Cash Mobs: Commercial Theater of a Different Kind

Oh sure, we’re all familiar with the flash mob.

The scene: mid-day, at a high-traffic location, bystanders shopping, walking their dog, eating street meat—then BOOM—suddenly hundreds of people descend upon the locale, perform an inane act to the shock/delight/horror/annoyance of the assembled denizens. After completing said activity, the participants disperse to a variety of locations as though nothing happened, leaving onlookers scratching their heads.

What kind of activities, you ask? Oh, you know, like descending on a popular clothing store and struttin’ it out to MC Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This”…

As a piece of street theater, you really do have to hand it to the flash mob. The performance style has held on much longer than anyone would’ve expected. It has only been able to do so by virtue of the creativity and innovation of those eager to create the next weird and/or awesome thing.

The next best thing has arrived; enter the cash mob.

The premise of the cash mob is really pretty simple: take the theatricality of the flash mob with a healthy helping of good ‘ol fashioned do-goodery. Using Twitter and other online outlets, those same hundred-plus people are mobilized, but this time rather than furry costumes or outlandish performances, these folks bring in $20 and simply make a purchase—mobbing a local business with an influx of deniro. That cash is money that stays within that local community.

[More on cash mobs from CNN (embedding disabled)]

The growth of big box retailers is insatiable, and online shopping makes getting everything from diapers to dog food as simple as entering your credit card information. What those experiences lack, no matter how cleverly marketed, is the uniqueness of the human connection. The cash mob brings back this interpersonal connection by making the simple act of spending money personal again. The hope is that the community pride of participating in cash mobs might actually motivate changes in buying habits.

When it comes to creating theater that can truly motivate change, it doesn’t get more effective than that.

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Learn more about cash mobs at:
www.cashmob.com
cashmobs.wordpress.com